Welcome to Utah Indie Game Jam 2017!

Come with your team and make a game in 48 hours, meet people, and learn new stuff. Our fifth annual game jam will be held on October 20-22 at the Business Resource Center of Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem. Address is 815 West 1250 South, Orem, UT 84058

Check-in will be between 6 and 7 pm and the event goes until 8 pm on Sunday. We should have some great prizes for the winners.

What's a game jam?

Game Jams are a time-constrained game-making competition. In general, the goal is to come out of it with an awesome game you have made by yourself or with a team. If you want more info, check out these articles / videos.

The event is free. Though you'll need to pay for your own meals, snacks, etc.

What should I bring?

We suggest you bring a laptop computer (for portability), but you can bring in a desktop machine if you like. Note that internet access will be wireless only, so bring a dongle if you need one! Other good items are: food, snacks, toiletries, sleeping bag, pillow, headphones, thumb drives, and generally things that you'll need to survive a weekend trapped with a bunch of geeks. We will have a quiet room set aside for those needing to get some power napping in.

How large can my team be?

We don't have a limit on how many members can comprise a team, however you'll find that larger teams aren't always better as there's more chaos and coordination work. It's okay to have a team of one person if you want. Teams should be fairly well set by the time the event starts. If you need help finding a team let us know and we may be able to help.

Will there be prizes?

We are planning to have some prizes in the following categories (These may change):

Grand Prize

Best Visuals

Best Audio

Best Gameplay

Best Narrative

Best Humor

Best Use of Tech

Most Likely to Succeed

Most Educational

"Left Field" Award

Kids Choice Award

Audience Choice Award

The winners will be determined by a panel of judges, except the Audience Choice Award which will be voted upon by the attendees. All games will need to incorporate the theme which will be announced during the kickoff meeting at the start of the event. At the end all games will be submitted to the website and each team will be able to present their game to the judges and everyone for about 5-10 mins per team. After that the judges will deliberate and the award ceremony will follow. (FYI - These categories could change before the event, but it's unlikely).

What are the rules?

All entrants will have 48 hours (roughly) to develop as much of a game as is possible (preferably fully playable).

The entirety of the game must be conceived, designed, built, and uploaded within the allotted time.

Entrants must be prepared to show their progress at the end of the 48 hours.

Entrants may choose to organize teams with any other entrants they choose.

Entrants must have rights to all presented game assets, including: art, sfx, and music.

Entrants may use any freely available programming frameworks, tools, and engines, as well as from their personal library also.

Entrants must incorporate the randomly selected theme of the jam.

Entrants will keep their game reasonably clean and in good taste as we may have minors participate. (No porn, F-bombs, etc)

Entrants are expected to be respectful to others and the building during the jam.

No alcohol or drugs are allowed in the building, and any smoking will have to be done outside.

NOTE: Although public domain, creative commons, personal libraries, and other assets you own are allowed to be used in the jam, it's not in keeping with the spirit of the jam if your game is composed entirely from other people's stuff (meaning it's not really your game). You do have to do some of the work yourself.